A Platform to Go Critical
How and why was the Critical Muslim Launched? An explanation Muslims have an aversion to criticism. Many believe that ‘their Islam’, whatever variety it happens to be, is perfect and above criticism. They believe that all questions of importance have already been answered by the great jurists of history. Muslims just have to believe and […]
The Text in Rhythm with Nature
A look at the narrative style of the Quran with the focus on the symbols, metaphors and allegories the Holy Book calls to play) If chapter names are any indicator of the overall message a book drives home, the Holy Quran might appear to be a work dealing with a disparate list of topics that […]
Konya, Where The Past Transcends the Present
Last year in June, during my visit to Turkey I visited the Mevlānā Museum in Konya and it was indeed an experience that I continue to cherish in my heart. Mevlana Museum is the popular name of the Green Tomb (Yeşil Türbe), a splendid shrine where Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (d. 1273), popularly known in […]
Zoophobia in Islam
I have often observed the stupid indifference of my Muslim friends to animals as an admixture of zoophobia (extreme fear of animals) and misozoony (Hatred of animals). First, I found them cynophobic (disliking dogs). One of my friends related to me the Prophetic hadith on washing seven times (one time being with water), in case […]
Gamal al Banna – a Life of Defiance
The images that comes to one’s mind on hearing the name ‘al Banna’ in Egypt is that of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). But what Gamal al Banna the youngest brother of MB founder Hassan al Banna upheld throughout his life was altogether just the opposite. His life proved that progressive thoughts could not only make […]
A Spectrum of Exotic Bands
A stage for diverse music traditions in the world and different cultures, Rainforest Music Festival for the year 2013 will be held on June 28-30 in Kuching, Malaysia. The major theme underlying in this gathering of sound is this: each band and each performer is a unit of voice/voices. When units come together in a […]
Rashid Rida and the Kerala Muslim Reformist Movements
Interactive Blogemics carried a piece under the title ‘Moulid: Beyond Rashid Rida’s Tolerance’ in its last issue. Here is an engaging discussion based on it in the Facebook group ‘Garden of Bliss!’ Saleem Ch: Teach your children three things; Love of your Prophet; Love of his Ahl al-Bait and the recitation of the Quran. Hadith- […]
Whither Art?
The Kochi Muziris Biennale, the first of its kind in India was initially celebrated in the media as an Olympics of contemporary art. The Biennale was expected to cater to and enhance the prospects of art works based on the local life of Kochi, especially the Fort Kochi, Mattancherry regions having a rich legacy of […]
Let Beet Root for You
Steamed Beet Cake I fumbled through the vegetable bin located at the base of my refrigerator in the hope of finding something that would add to the filling for my daughter’s sandwiches and found two round brown beets staring back at me. Sorry!! I shut the door simply ignoring them and continued with my chores. […]
A Door Opening into Rumi
Rumi is one of the literary sensations especially in the West . He serves as a beacon of hope for a lot who are lost in the desolate world of spiritual famine. He is a friend of the love-starved romantic and a master of the traveler on the metaphysical quest. The most widely read poet […]
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